It is too early to know whether California's next governor will be a woman, as the election is still two years away. But Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to Sacramento on Thursday highlighted the possibility after the nation's first female vice president spent time with two women aspiring to become California's first female governor.
At a historic mansion near the state Capitol, Harris met with Democratic state lawmakers, where she was introduced by Senate Leader Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), the first woman to hold that position. Harris then first attended a fundraiser hosted by another woman: the Democrat. Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakisthe first woman elected to that position.
Atkins and Kounalakis have already launched campaigns to run for governor in 2026 in what is expected to be a crowded field that will include at least one other woman: Betty Yee, vice chair of the California Democratic Party.
None of them were the focus of Harris' visit. The vice president's address Thursday to a friendly audience in his home state was aimed at mobilizing Democrats to re-elect President Biden. He called this year's election a “binary” choice between “a former president who speaks openly of his admiration for dictators” and Biden, whose administration “seeks to improve the condition of the people.”
“Split screen couldn't be starker. And the stakes couldn't be higher,” Harris told donors gathered at Kounalakis's parents' sprawling Sacramento home, which featured marble columns, crystal chandeliers and gold chandeliers.
Guests included Democratic Reps. Robert Garcia of Long Beach and Doris Matsui of Sacramento; Jodi Hicks, president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California; and numerous lobbyists doing business at the state Capitol. Donors were asked to give between $5,000 and $50,000 to attend, depending on the invitation, and Kounalakis said the event raised $648,000 for Biden's re-election.
The ties between the vice president and lieutenant governor go back about 20 years, Kounalakis said, when Harris was first elected San Francisco district attorney. Kounalakis ran his family's home construction business at the time and routinely helped raise money for Democratic politicians.
“We started having lunch together regularly… in San Francisco, and just checking out what it was like to be a professional woman and some of the challenges we had,” Kounalakis said in an interview. “We often compared notes about shoes and suits, and where to get the best ones.”
Kounalakis said he once set up Harris on a date, but “it wasn't a love match.”
California Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis will sign a bill while acting as governor in 2022, when Governor Gavin Newsom was on vacation. State Senate Leader Toni Atkins backs her.
(Rico Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
They stayed connected as Harris' career progressed. Kounalakis and his family donated at least $29,000 to support Harris' campaigns for California attorney general in 2010 and 2014, campaign finance records show. When Kounalakis ran for lieutenant governor in 2018, Harris provided a critical endorsement “that built credibility for my campaign early in the race,” Kounalakis said.
Two years later, when Joe Biden was looking for a running mate, Kounalakis pressured his campaign to pick Harris as his vice president.
“I felt there was a lack of appreciation for their skills, their talents and their abilities. Many of us in California feel that way,” Kounalakis said.
He hosted a Zoom meeting with Biden's selection committee and invited elected officials and union leaders from across California. Each had two minutes to give a testimony about Harris.
“Dolores Huerta's was the most memorable for me because she stared at the selection committee and said, 'We should tell our daughters that being ambitious is a strength, not a weakness,'” Kounalakis recalled.
In Sacramento on Thursday, Harris described her visit as a homecoming of sorts, after spending six years working in state government as attorney general.
“She has close ties with many members of our group. It was great to welcome him,” said Democratic Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas.
Harris spoke to lawmakers about the benefits California is getting from Biden's initiatives, like the federal one. infrastructure bill and the CHIPS Act and Sciencethat pours billions of dollars into domestic semiconductor research and development, and told them that California plays an important role in pushing a Democratic political agenda that may end up shaping the nation.
“The message he sent was a great reminder of how important the work we do as a state Legislature is,” Rivas said.
Republicans, predictably, saw it differently.
“Californians are in a worse situation today because of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” said the president of the California Republican Party, Jessica Millan Patterson, in a statement in which she criticized “their disastrous policies” on the southern border, in the economy and in crime.
Atkins said he appreciated Harris speaking to lawmakers about reproductive rights and access to abortion, a key issue that Democrats will push in this year's elections. Harris' re-election message was inspiring, Atkins said, and Democratic lawmakers are proud that the country's first female vice president is a Californian.
It remains to be seen what that will mean for women seeking to break the glass ceiling in the California governor's office.
“We all have these relationships” with Harris, Atkins said. “She knows Betty Yee, she knows Eleni, she knows me.”
Atkins said Thursday that there was “no pushing or jockeying” to divert Harris' attention to the 2026 California gubernatorial race.
“That day will come, I'm sure,” she said. “But that wasn't today.”
